By Tim Christie /The Register-Guard
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/01/03/b1.bz.solar.0103.p1.php
George Rode fixes cars, and now he’s trying to do his part to get a few extra miles out of Mother Earth. Rode is preparing to install solar photovoltaic electric systems on the roofs of his two Eugene auto repair shops, Euro-Asian Automotive and Autohaus.
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Trial confirms feasibility of powering GSM Base Stations using ‘green’ power
Monday December 4, 2006
source: yahoo business news
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061204/cgm062.html?.v=51
HONG KONG, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT – News) today announced that it has successfully completed a trial to demonstrate the feasibility of alternative power systems that can support remote GSM Base Stations (BTS). The trial concluded that a combination of solar cells and wind turbines can generate 1,200 watts in a continual cycle; enough to drive a mid-sized BTS and support a microwave backhaul installation.
Hydrogen Solar Ltd Awarded SEEDA Grant for Research on photoactive Iron Oxide materials for Hydrogen Production in Tandem Cells™
source: Press Release December 18, 2006
http://www.hydrogensolar.com/news.seeda.html
Hydrogen Solar Ltd has been awarded a £70,000 research grant from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) for work on photoactive thin film Iron Oxide nano particles to be used in the company’s solar technology. The award will build upon recent work by Hydrogen Solar on photoactive iron oxides showing a sunlight-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 2.1%.and a theoretical maximum of 20%. The 18 month programme aims to significantly raise this efficiency at both test sample level and within scaled units.
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The Space agency awards a two-year grant to use nanotechnology to improve the efficiency and radiation-resistance of solar cells for spacecraft.
(December 22, 2006)
source: Univ of California, Riverside Press release
http://www.newsroom.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=1482
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – www.ucr.edu – Just as mileage limits how far your car can go, the limitations of today’s solar panels restrict how far deep-space exploration craft can go before they run out of power. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, however, are part of a team to improve our interstellar mileage. Electrical Engineering Professor Alexander Balandin of the Bourns College of Engineering is co-leading a university-industry team, which received NASA funding to develop solar cells for space that use nanostructures to both increase efficiency and improve resistance to radiation damage.
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NEC Display Solutions Introduces Solar-Powered Battery Package for Renewable-Power Capability Monitors – New, Long-Lasting Solar-Powered System Reduces Harmful Pollutants, Use of Non-Renewable Energy; NEC First Display Company to Offer Such System For All Its Monitors
Source: NEC Display solutions press release
http://www.necdisplay.com/press/PressDetail.cfm?document_id=2333
CHICAGO –January 4, 2007 – Continuing its recognized environmental leadership in the electronics industry, NEC Display Solutions of America, the leading stand-alone provider of flat panel desktop displays, today announced a solar-powered system for use with all its monitors. In conjunction with Carmanah® Technologies Corporation, one of the fastest growing renewable and energy-efficient technology manufacturers in the world, NEC is the first display company to offer a solar-powered system for all of its monitors.
New nanosilicon photovoltaic solar cell technology could adapt home and office glass windows into ones capable of generating electricity from sunlight, without losing significant transparency or requiring major changes in manufacturing infrastructure.
source: Octillion press release
http://www.octillioncorp.com/OCTL_20070103.html
Vancouver, BC – January 3, 2007 – Octillion Corp. (Symbol: OCTL) today announced its plans to enhance and expand its management team through the addition of individuals with in-depth knowledge of photovoltaic solar cell technology research, development of innovative, high performance photovoltaic products that can be manufactured in high volume with corresponding low costs, and particular experience in the commercialization of such technologies.
By MyADSL, December 2006
Source:
http://www.mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=5192
For concerned environmentalists out there, there’s a new product on the market that allows you to charge your iPod using the Sun. But even if you don’t give a hoot about the environment and just want a way to power your iPod, which has a notoriously short battery life, this charger looks to offer a means to do so. Flexopower, a Johannesburg based company focusing on portable solar solutions for consumer electronics, has brought out a solar iPod/MP3 charger called the Flexopower Solar Uno.
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By Leah Krauss Dec 30, 2006, 6:36 GMT
Source: © 2006 by United Press International
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/energywatch/renewables/features/article_1238131.php/Solar_World_A_sunny_2006_for_solar
TEL AVIV, Israel (UPI) — The past year has seen landmark legislative support for solar in the United States; testing on the world`s largest solar dish in Israel; and the announcement of solar projects in locations as far-flung as Central America, southeast Asia and Africa. And despite high prices driven by demand for silicon, the main ingredient in most solar panels, solar energy firms sported big gains in the stock market and in their quarterly earnings reports.
Perhaps the most dramatic developments in the global solar energy industry happened in the United States in 2006. The country that uses most of the world`s energy finally put its efforts behind a comprehensive renewable energy program as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which took effect January 1, 2006. Though many individual states already had tax breaks for solar in place, the Energy Policy Act introduced the first federal solar tax credit, encouraging businesses and homeowners to put photovoltaic panels on their roofs and to start using the sun to heat their water.
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by Brian Womack /Investor’s Business Daily / Dec 27, 2006
source: investors.com
http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&artnum=1&issue=20061227
The math isn’t complicated for the solar energy sector. The industry wants to cut solar prices by roughly half to compete against traditional power utilities without government incentives. SunPower, (SPWR) a major solar panel maker, has been a leader in this effort and recently announced one of the biggest acquisitions in the industry’s history to help the San Jose, Calif., company reach that goal.
The company plans to buy PowerLight, a firm that installs solar panels, for about $330 million. The cash-and-stock deal should close early next year, pending approvals. Together the companies will hold a stake in the key parts of the industry, from design through manufacturing to installation. With that breadth, the company hopes to find new ways to cut costs more quickly.
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By JILL CECIL WIERSMA Staff Writer
Ashland City Times / Monday, 01/01/07
http://www.ashlandcitytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070101/COUNTY090101/70101009
FRANKLIN — An empty fishpond at Centennial High School should be ready for some tenants next semester. Environmentally concerned teens at the school have earned some solar panels that will be used to power an oxygen pump for the pond and some grow lights for the school greenhouse, ecology teacher David Schklar said.
The four panels were bought through a Clean Energy Technology Education initiative, designed to promote practical applications of renewable energy. The initiative is backed by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. Centennial is one of five schools in the state chosen to participate in the initiative.